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Non-bank lending takes a larger bite of the ship finance mix

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Non-bank lending takes a larger bite of the ship finance mix

Those were the top level figures from the 16th annual analysis of key developments in global ship finance by Greece’s Petrofin Research.

Ted Petropoulos, head of Athens-based Petrofin Research, notes Asian and Australian banks (APAC) show significant growth, especially in their market share, which has increased from 43% to 45%. In terms of actual exposure, their portfolio amounts to $127.94bn compared to $120.83bn in 2022.

Among key findings of the analysis is that Europe still represents the biggest ship finance area at 50% of the top 40 banks, with lending at $141bn. The US remains home-bound while Europe has shown a marginal decrease.

Greek banks showed a significant y-o-y growth of 13% from $13bn in 2022 to $15bn in 2023. Greece’s market share increased from 4.6% to 5.2%. French and Belgian and other European banks’ portfolios also showed rises.

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Petrofin Research reports that the total global bank lending of all banks, including local banks, is approaching $375bn, i.e. approximately 62% of all types of the global ship finance total down from 67%.

“We can provide a cautious, indicative figure for global ship finance, including all forms of lending – leasing, export finance and alternative providers – of approx. $600bn. Interesting to note that Clarksons estimates the global fleet value at $1.5trn,” said Petropoulos.

“It should be noted that non-bank lending is showing considerable higher growth than bank lending over the years.”

Japanese banks now figure more prominently in global ship finance holding 22% of the top 40 banks. This development is supported by the weak yen and rapid rise in Sale and Leaseback transactions (SLB).

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“It should be noted that Japanese banks provide primarily loans to either Japanese owners or Japanese owned but international bareboat charterers,” said Petropoulos.

Poseidon Principles, a framework for encouraging decarbonisation of shipping through finance, now incorporates 35 signatories, which represent $300bn in shipping finance.

ESG considerations and bank strategies continue to favour bank ship lending towards eco vessels and Petrofin notes “there is increasing evidence that sustainability has become more prevalent in bank lending”.

Despite good efforts towards decarbonisation, there still remain doubts as to the required technology and its cost to meet the zero-emission target. Such concerns are shared amongst all stakeholders including lenders, said Petrofin.

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Finance

Low-income Chinese girl aces gaokao, inspires live-streamers offering help

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Low-income Chinese girl aces gaokao, inspires live-streamers offering help

A girl from a disadvantaged rural family in central China topped this year’s gaokao, attracting numerous live-streamers eager to finance her education, which she declined.

The home of 18-year-old secondary school graduate Han Yaping in a Henan province village was recently bustling with live-streamers.

This attention came after Han achieved an impressive score of 699 out of 750 in the gaokao, China’s national college entrance exam.

She has received offers from China’s two leading universities, Tsinghua University and Peking University.

Han’s accomplishment is particularly remarkable given her family’s impoverished circumstances.

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Her mother suffers from ankylosing spondylitis, an inflammatory arthritis affecting the spine, preventing her from working. Her father, who earns a living through farming and odd jobs, serves as the family’s sole provider. Han also has a younger sister.

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UK financial regulator publishes landmark AI review

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UK financial regulator publishes landmark AI review

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a landmark review on Monday that proposes recommendations to regulate the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the financial decisions made by consumers.

The review, titled the Mills Review, anticipates that both consumers and firms will start delegating “more financial decision-making to AI systems,” including for agreements, initiating transactions, and executing decisions “within agreed parameters.” One of the key findings of the review outlined that while AI can help bridge advice gaps and “support growth,” there remain risks “associated with fraud, cyber security, and consumer harm.” Conducting the review, Sheldon Mills highlighted that “AI can also amplify risks: bias, discrimination, exclusion, opaque decision-making (particularly when multiple AI models interact), misleading or hallucinatory advice and erosion of consumer trust.”

The review stated that presently, one in five adults in the UK are “already open to AI making decisions for them,” particularly when decisions feel “complex or high stakes.” It found that roughly 26 percent of the population “trust general-purpose tools such as ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini for financial advice” with little awareness that such platforms provide no “formal routes to recourse” or protections.

Overall, the Mills Review identified four areas that it anticipates will be impacted by AI in the financial sector: “the transformation of firms,” “new consumer journeys,” “a reshaped competition landscape,” and “amplified financial crime and cyber risk.” The FCA projected the shift in how consumers and firms consult AI to take place by 2030.

The Mills Review put forth seven “priority” recommendations to be considered by the FCA Board. It recommended that any transitions to autonomous AI models be monitored and that regulatory frameworks and perimeters be adapted and secured. The review called for the strengthening of “system-wide coordination and oversight,” the scaling up of the FCA’s AI Lab to enable it to support AI models and innovation for agentic finance, and an “AI-enabled agentic supervisory model” to be built and adopted.   Finally, it recommended that a trusted “public-interest AI-enabled financial capability service” be developed.

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The FCA announced, in the press release, that it will launch an AI “good and poor practice publication” in late 2026.

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Fayette County Public Schools Board of Education approves audit contract, new finance director position

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Fayette County Public Schools Board of Education approves audit contract, new finance director position

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – The Fayette County Public Schools Board of Education approved a one-year audit contract capped at $131,750 plus $225 per hour during a virtual meeting Monday, along with a new finance director job description.

The contract is with Mauldin & Jenkins Certified Public Accountants, an Atlanta-based firm, and covers the 2025-26 fiscal year and the restatement of the 2024-25 fiscal year and ancillary services through FY 2029-2030. The work is set to be completed by Nov. 15.

The board approved the contract in a 5-0 vote.

Audit contract details

Interim Chief Financial Officer Kyna Koch said the cost is already accounted for in the district’s budget.

“And is actually less than we expected given our current situation — we were thrilled with the bid,” Koch said.

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Koch said she believes this is Mauldin & Jenkins’ first school district audit in Kentucky, but that the firm works with school districts of more than 100,000 students throughout the Southeast.

“Quite frankly when I spoke to the folks at KDE they were thrilled because we’re running kind of short of auditors who want to do school district audits — so all around I think this was a win-win for everyone,” Koch said.

New finance director position

The board also approved a new job description for the position of Director of Finance. Acting Superintendent Dr. Bill Bradford said the title will replace two associate director positions.

“Which will not only save the school district money but it’s also going to streamline our work and align internal controls to make room for a more efficient unit,” Bradford said.

Koch said the position will be posted as soon as possible following the board’s approval.

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Closed session

The board went into closed session for more than an hour to discuss pending investigations that could lead to employee discipline. When the board returned, it took no action and adjourned the meeting.

Copyright 2026 WKYT. All rights reserved.

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